ITN International CEO predicts attendee badges to be completely digital

Jun 19, 2012

Event badges will soon live inside attendees’ NFC-enabled Smartphones, according to Ivan Lazarev, president and CEO of ITN International.

What’s more, those Smartphone-resident badges will not only allow attendees to enter conference sessions, exhibit halls and social events, but will enable them to buy meals and discounted merchandise at the event—even to travel about the host city and purchase tickets to local attractions.

Attendees will use their Smartphones to exchange their “digital badges” with exhibitors, sponsors and fellow attendees.

Lazarev offered his predictions during Inside NFC, a half-day seminar sponsored by Bethesda, Maryland-based ITN International on June 6, 2012, at the ASAE Conference Center in Washington, DC. The seminar was attended by many show organizers, representing several of the nation’s largest association and privately-owned exhibitions.

“For purposes of visual identification, each attendee will wear a paper badge that will be printed at a kiosk when the attendee first arrives on site,” said Lazarev.

The badge-printing kiosks, permanently installed throughout meeting venues, will be provided by the venues at no charge to organizers.

Near field communication (NFC) readers, also permanently installed throughout venues, will allow attendees to use their Smartphone-resident digital badges to enter access-controlled areas, such as session rooms and exhibit halls, and to complete purchases.

“The world of NFC is truly going to transform the experience of events,” said Lazarev. “It’s also a cost-saver. It will make a big difference at events and allow people to interact better and get better information.”